Another 849 story - this time from
Navy News.
Bags of experience for 849 fliers
Providing the Army/RAF with a taster of MASC, perhaps?
On a less positive note, Richard Beedall has a new(ish) editorial -
Where's the Jam?
..........At that time my criticism of an immediate 10% cut in the size of the RN was muted by the apparently compensatory promises of "jam" in the form of orders for new carriers, destroyers, nuclear submarines .... Sadly further rounds of cuts have followed, and the RN is now 25-30% smaller than it was eight years ago, but very few of those promises have been delivered on.
Even more worryingly, hints of yet more cuts seem to be drifting out the MOD. There's apparently not enough money in the equipment programme for the seventh and eight Type 45 destroyers ("up to 12" were originally promised), uncertainty and delay still surrounds the order for further Astute-class submarines that are desperately needed by industry, the order for Future Lynx is being repeatedly deferred, the CVF carrier project again faces its annual battle to pass Main Gate (a unique Part 2 approval this year!), and so on.
To paraphrase Swiss Toni from the
Fast Show (who it has been alleged looks like Des Browne)
Running the CVF project is like making love to a beautiful women, first you screw her, then you promise you will make a commitment if you can screw her again, then you keep screwing her on the promise of commiting someday.
